Lehr stacker for glassware



Feb. 27 1940. l o. SHACKLELFORD 2,191,591 I LEHR STACKER FOR GLASSWARE Filed March 16, 1937 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Elma Mum 0n}; SimulieZ/brd Feb. 27, 1940.

O. SHACKLELFORD LEHR STACKER FOR GLASSWARE Filed March 16, 1957 ma $hach'elford 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gnome/ g Feb. 27, .1940. o. SHACKLELFORD 2,191,591

' LEI-IR STACKER FOR GLASSWARE Filed llarph 16, 1937 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 amen M 0rd? J/zachklfoni 27, 1940. o. SHACKLELFORD 2,191,591 LEHR STAG-KER FOR GLASSWARE Filed Ilarch 16 1957 'r Sheets-Sheet 5 0rd? fliuwlielford GNMMM -v o. SHACKLELFQRD 2,191,591

LEH'R STACKER Fon GLASSWARE Filed March 16 1937 7 sheets-sheets 0rd? sh d/260ml Feb. 27,111940.

of SHACKLELFORD Lxm STACKER FOR GLASSWARE Filed March 16, 1937 o 13 g 122 g :11 4

7 Sheets-Sheet 7 amen tom 47 Orz'e Slzaah'bfbrd :1 I Ml Patented Feli. 27, 1940'.

N H U '23'Cla'ims. ie tion relates to automatic stackers for glassware. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus :for 1 distributing articles of glassware ,ina;particularly'desired xnanner andhfor trans- .ierring them tO an -annealing' lehr,v a decorat- Y nel mrane ir e iap a It isa primary obi t of thepresent invention 4 to, provide-a stacker; which is of (markedly simplqconstruetion, havingja-minimum number of moving 5 parts and, which is entirely to automatic in its operation. lit is" a further object to pro- --,1,- vide asta'cker which will arrange the bottles or wh n: art c sf; l w re i he ,desired relation, without the use of glassware-handling tongs l5;=,or ;otherdeviceswhich. positively grip the ware. I Stackers oLthe latte! fi eare objectionable, first,

" -,.-b caus e t e e s s m lik d- W125 tz-will,wdamage ythe ware and, secondly} because they, necessarily include complicated mechanisms whichpccasionally get outof order and interrupt th e smooth operation of the stacker, the lehr, the for i g-machine andassociated machines in the ,gp1ant."; 52: 1 a

11;; is; a further object. of the invention to proa Y efa s a ker'Wh QhmeY- P ?5 Y enclosed within heat-insulatingwallasothatthere is subv Y stantially n0, yheat-loss -from the articles during.

the time-theyarebeing distributed to the proper Ia" -pqsi nnf s rans e t9ih b I jPreierably the 1 sta I her, is enclosed within a 1 chamber; which: communicates with the hot end H of thelehr,- and, in fact, constitutes a; continua- .tiongoil 'thelehr tunnel-itseli v Itwis" a further; object of the invention-"a to, .pro-

1 33mm a stacker; hich-efiectsa novel distribution "of 'g'articlessof glassware on: the' belt of a {tunnel lehr.:-. Thisqnovelndistribution serves to prevent rthe 2creation ;;of,1ongitudinai vdrafts 3 a; air through '5 the tunnel. in the spaces or. channels between 11 6;longitudlnalyrows of rticlesflon the belt.

aw -object isgpreferably accomplished by staggering the articles, in accordance with a regular plan 1 equenge, [so] that the centers Lof the articles inilalternatestransverse rowsfare ofiset virorn the 45 a; centers ofthearticles-in the adjacent transverse rows. By this arrangementgit is notoniy possibl'e -to efiect a closergpacking or articles on the -ie-iehr -belt,"hut also, no-longltudinai channels be-H :tween' longitudinal irows of bottles-areiormed.

" 5o :.='1herefore; 'longitudinaldrafts are restrained and y. :the wareis-annealed-equally onall sides. accomplishing-the objects of the invention,

55' paralielconveyors in an insulated chamber. Each transverse row'with respect to the preceding and amount with respect to the corresponding botas shownin the accompanying drawing and H V operative relation to a lehr.

ca plurality of, pivotedsdeflectors or ushers are tinned cabove .aa conveyor; tor, a plurality of, I

' PATENT OFFICE nsult srAcKEn ron GLAsswaaE Orie Shaekeltord, Fairmont, W. Va.

Application March 16, 1937, Serial No. 131,215

deflector serves to guide alternate articles to different paths on the conveying means That is,

a first deflector divides the single incoming line of.bottles into two paths. Additional deflectors divide those two lines into four, and subsequent 5 deflectors again divide the lines into eight, etc. By properly positioning the deflectors, the articles will be distributed to a plurality of equally spaced, parallel paths longitudinally of the lehr tunnel.

In order to effect more accurate control of the spacing and positioning of the articles, means are provided for forming the articles into transverse ly aligned rows. Preferably, the latter means takes the form of bottle or article arresting 15' means which arreststhe movement of one bottle in each path when it reaches a predetermined transverse line. Moreover, the arresting means holds the several bottles on that line until the last bottle to arrive has reached its place, in line, whereupon means actuated by the last bottle release all of the bottles, so that they move in. unison toward and into thelehr. As soon as the transverse row of bottles has been released, the arresting means again become operative to ac- 28 cumulate another transverse row of bottles and the cycle is repeated.

The staggering of the individual articles in each succeeding rows is efiected preferably by means 30 of defiecting arms adapted to shift the bottle in every second row laterally a predetermined tles in the other rows. These deflecting arms are preferably controlled and shifted to their defiectingposltion by the passage of every second bottle in a. particular path past a predetermined point.

- The invention also includes many other objects and advantages and consists in many novel details of construction and combinations of part,

plained, below. .These additional objectsand advantages will be apparent to one skilled in the art when the invention is considered in connec- 5 tion with the following description of a preferred embodiment. H In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of thestacker. Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 2-2 of'Figule 1, showing the stacker in a Figure 3 is a. central longitudinal view taken on the line 3-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a top plan view, with certain w removed, of the actuating means for the arresting fingers and deflecting arms.

Figure 5 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view on line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the conveyor platform with certain parts removed.

Figure 7 is an end view of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a side view, partly in section. of the construction shown in Figure 6 and specifically illustrating the transfer plate. 4

Figure 9 is a transverse, sectional view of the 3 platform, taken on line 9-9 of Figure 6.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the transfer plate shown'in section in Figure 8. Figure 11 is a plan view, partly in section, showing a preferred form of deflector and guide plate.

Figure 12 is a, side elevation of Figure 11. Figure 13 is a plan .view of another deflector. Figure 14 is a side elevation of the same. Figure 15 is an'enlarged, vertical, longitudinal, sectional view taken on line |5-|5 of Figure 4.

Figure 16 is a plan view partly in section taken on line '|6|6 of Figure 15.

Figure 17 is an elevation of a mercury switch and the cam for controlling its-position.

Figure 18 is a plan view of the same cam, and Figure 191s a vertical, sectional view showing a detail of a control for another mercury switch. Upon a main frame 20 there is an insulated housing or casing 2|, comprising side walls 22, 23, and a top wall 24. The walls of the casing may conveniently be made up of sheet metal plates 25,'rock wool or asbestos insulation 26 or the like and a layer of heat insulating plaster 21 spread on a metal lath-28. Any other convenient wall structure may be used, so long as it has the proper heat insulating qualities.

The vertically disposed side walls 23, 23 ter-' minate forwardly in fairly closely spaced relation to provide an entrance opening or door 29, leading into the interior of-thecasing. The side walls diverge from each other rearwardly as shown in Figure 2 and terminate in parallelside sections 3|I, 3| which may be placed in longitudinal alignment with the side walls 32, 33 of an associated annealing lehr. The top wall 24 also may be placed in alignment with the top wall 34 of the lehr, as shown in Figure 3.

The particular construction of the lehr is immaterial and is not a part of the present invention, but reference is made to my copending application Serial No. 131,216, filed March 16, 1937,

for a disclosure of a lehr particularly adapted for use with a stacker of the present type.

The side walls of the stacker casing may be provided with doors 35, 36, substantially as shown, to permit access to the. interior of the casing.

The base 28 is made up of a plurality of struc-' tural steel elements, such as angles, beams, and plates, assembled in a novel manner to provide a support for the casing and a novel form of platformfor the belt conveyors, hereinafter dee scribed. The base '20 is supported upon adjustable legs 31, 38 atone end and a vertically adjustable post 39 at, the other. A collar 46 is journalled on the tube 39 in threaded engagement with a screw 4| for raising and lowering the front end-of the stacker. The legs 31, 38 and the platform 42 for the motor 43 are supported for vertical adjustment by means of the threaded bolts 44, as shown in Figure 1. A pair of transverse angle beams 45 are supported by the legs 31; 38, and serve as transverse supporting means for side angle beams 46 and a plurality of parallel vertical plates 41. v 7

Additional transverse angle bars 46, 49 are disposed beneath the plates 41 and a bottom plate or plates 56, as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

The longitudinally arranged parallel plates 41 carry angle iron strips 5|, 5-2 on their side faces,

as shown in Figures 6 and 9. The upper faces of these angle strips serve as supporting means for the edges of the parallel conveyor belts 53, 53a, etc. The belts are trained about a series of upper rollers 54, journalled between extensions or cars 55, preferably formed integrally with the vertical webs of the angle strips 5|, 52, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

The belts are also trained about a lower series of rollers 56 which are axially offset from the rollers 55 and journalled in depending plates 51 welded to the transverse angle iron 58. These rollers 56 are provided with central annular flanges 59 which serve as spacer rings between the several belts. I

The longitudinal, parallel plates 41 arerespectively of varying lengths, as shown in Figures 2 and 6 and, at their forward ends, carry rollers 66, about which the several belts 53 are trained. The belt supporting angle irons 5|, 52 are of corresponding lengths, so that a plurality of longiing roll 64. The hexagonal rollers 63 and 64 are engaged with each other by two spur gears secured to the ends thereof (not shown). They are then trained about a forwardly disposed, adjustable roll 65, and a fixed roll 66. From the latter, the belts are led forwardly and each is trained about its own individual roll 68. The

' tension roll 65 is carried in a bracket 65', ad-

justable by means of a screw and nut construction 65". Power is transmitted from the motor 43 through a speed reducer 61 to the driving roll 64 by means of a chain 68 and sprockets 69, 19.

The conveyor platform of the stacker also includes a lead-in conveyor 1|, supportedin a manner similar to thebelts 53, and trained about a forward roll 12 and a rear roll 13. These rolls may be journaled in the centermost pair of longitudinal plates 41,- as shown at the left of Figures 1 and 3. The belt 1| is driven by a pair of hexagonal rolls 14,15 and is trained over tension lar to the corresponding means for the belts 53.

'The driving roll 15 receives power from a. sprocket 18 associated with the speed reducer 61 and chain 19 and sprocket 80. Because of the different ratios between the pulleys 69, 10 and 18, 60, the belt 1| 'will be driven at. a higher relative speed than the belts 53.

The means for distributing the bottles, or

other articles of glassware on the several belts roll 16 and idler 11, in a manner generally simi- 86 extending through a boss 81 associated with a vertical supporting rod 88. A stop pin 89 projects downwardly below a guide plate 99 in position to engage abutments 9I formed on the fishtail portion of the usher, thus limiting the lateral swing of the usher, asshown in Figure 11.

The guide plate 99 is supported by the rod 88 and by two vertical angle section members 92. These supports may conveniently extend upwardly and be attached to the top of the casing as indicated in Figure 3. The guide plate' is formed with diverging guiding edges 93, 94, leading rearwardly from the pivot point of the usher 8I. The edge 94 ,extends rearwardly and transversely of the conveying means a greater distance than the edge 93.

Rearwardly and laterally of the usher 8! and guide plate 99, there are provided two generally similar ushers and guide plate assemblies 8Ia, 99a and 8), 99b, spaced respectively as shown in Figure 2.

Behind the last mentioned ushers and guide plates, a plurality of slightly different ushers or deflectors 95 are provided, spaced equally across the parallel conveyors. A preferred form of usher of this type is shown in Figures 13 and 14. The

assembly comprises a forwardly projecting finportion 96, a fishtail rear portion '91, a central flange 98, a pivot pin 99 and a vertical supporting rod I99. The. latter may conveniently be formed with-a depending stop flange I9 I adapted to cooperate with abutments I92 formed on the v fishtail portion as shown in Figure 13.

With ushers and guide plates of the type shown herein, positioned in accordance with the plan of Figure 2, the articles of glassware brought into the lehr on the lead-in conveyor 'II will be deflected and distributed in a novel manner over the surface of the conveying means. With the ushers in the positions shown in Figure 2, a first bottle will be deflected by the usher 8| to the left, whereupon it will be guided by the edge 93 of the plate 99 onto'the conveyor belt 53a, where it will be engaged by the usher 8Ia. During the course of its passage past the first usher, this first article will have shifted the position of the usher from that shown in Figure 2 to an opposite position, wherein the fin portion 83 thereof overlies the left edge of the belt II. The first bottle will be shifted by the usher 8Ia from the'belt 53a. to the belt 53b and its passage will be further deflected by the guiding edge 93a until it is transferred to the belt 530 whereupon it will move longitudinally on that belt. Of course, during its passage past the usher Me, the first bottle will shift the position of that usher to the left. As the first bottle is carried along on the belt see, it will engage the usher 95a and be deflected thereby to the belt 5341, where it will travel longitudinally until arrested by the bottle arrestin fingers H9, l I I-, the specific structure of which is desc bed below. Thus, one bottle has now arrived a a position in the stacker, predetermined both longitudinally and transversely therein.

- The second bottle will be deflected by the usher 83 to the right, where it will be guided by the edge 94 of the guide plate 99 to the conveyor belt 531). Its passage by the usher 8I will, of course, shift the position thereof back to the original position, as shown in Figure 2. Thus, the usher 8| serves to direct succeeding bottles to alternate paths. The second bottle will travel along the belt 531: until it engages the usher 95b, but during its passage, it strikes'the fishtail end 841) of the usher 8Ib and the position of the latter. The usher 95b transfers the second bottle to the belt 53a where it is carried until it is arrested by the associated bottle arresting fingers I I9, III. Thus. two bottles have now arrived in transverse alignment at predetermined positions in the stacker.

It is unnecessary to trace the path followed by each bottle during its passage past the several ushers. It is sufllcient to point out that the first bottle is ushered to the position s, Figure 2, the second bottle to the position t, the third bottle to position u, the fourth bottle to position v, the fifth bottle to position to, the sixth bottle to position the seventh bottle to position 11 and the eighth and last bottle to position z.

Thus, when the eighth bottle arrives .at the transverse line where the several bottle arresting fingers H9, III are located, seven other bottles will be in position. The last bottle, upon its arrival at the position 2, serves to actuate means for releasing all of the bottles, so that they move in unison in a transverse row toward the lehr,-

the release being effected by mechanism now to be described.

' Referring to Figures 15 and 16, one of the bottle arresting assemblies is shown. A T-bar H2 extends downwardly from the top 24 of the stacker casing. Its lower end is provided with a guide or base plate II3. Avertical shaft H4 is joumalled at its lower end I I5 in this plate and at its upper end H6 in a concentric, tubular shaft IIi which extends downwardly in spaced relation thereto. The tubular shaft H1 is journalled at its upper end in a collar or the like I I8 carried by the top of the casing. The inner shaft II4 extends upwardly above the tubular shaft and has a pinion H9 fixed thereon. The upper end of the outer shaft III likewise carries a pinion I 29. A rack I2I engages the pinions H9 and a similar rack I22 engages the pinions I29. These racks are disposed on opposite sides of the pinions, forwardly and rearwardly of the stacker, whereby uniform movement of the racks in one direction or the other imparts clockwise rotation of one shaft and counter-clockwise motion to the other shaft mounted concentrically with respect thereto. Preferably, the racks are secured together as shown in Figures 4 and 5, one at a higher elevation than the other, and both are actuated by a common means, described below. The outer shaft III carries on its lower end, the bottle arresting finger III, While the inner shaft II4 carries the other finger II9 of the pair.

Figure 19 shows the construction of the upper end of the bottle arresting fingers positioned at" the right side of the stacker. The construction of the finger III, its tubular shaft II! and its pinion 129 is substantially the same as that previously described. The finger II 9' is mounted on a shaft II 4', provided at its upper end with a lever I23, instead of a pinion. Thus, the rack I2I is not in operative relation to the finger I I9, but, on the contrary, the latter is free to move when it is engaged by a bottle on the belt 53c. The lever I23 projects into the path of the depending arm I 24 of a bell crank lever (Figures 19, 4 and 5), the other end of which carries a weight I25. The bell crank I24 is fixed to a mercury switch I26, in circuit with a solenoid I21. The-armatureof the solenoidis connected, through a toggle joint I28, to the double rack bar I, I 22. The construction is such that, when the finger I I9 is deflected by the passage of the bottle on the conveyor 53c, the shaft H4 is oscillated, the

' transverse row on the conveyor belts toward the lehr. 'The'weight I moves the finger H8 and the mercury switch I26 back to their original positions as soon as the bottle has passed, and

the weight I29 shifts the bars I2I, I22 in the opposite direction, again to move the bottle arresting fingers back to their original, bottle arresting position.

In addition to the means for arranging the bottles or other articles of glassware in a transverse row across the stacker, and the means for releasing the row for transfer to the lehr, the present invention contemplates means for staggering the several bottles in alternate rows, so their centers are offset with respect to the corresponding bottles in the preceding and succeeding rows.

This means will now be described.

Referring to Figure 2, it will be noted that there are a plurality of deflecting arms I38, one positioned behind each pair of bottle arresting fin' gers. These arms are adapted to assume two positions, one a deflecting position as shown in Figure 2, and the other an inoperative position, longitudinally aligned with the conveyors.

A preferred form of bottle staggering means is shown in Figures 15 and 16. A shaft I3I is journalled at its upper end in a bushing I32, above the casing top 24. The shaft carries a pinion I33 at its upper end, in engagement with a rack I34. The lower end of the shaft is journalled at I35 in the base plate H3. The deflector arm I38 projects from the shaft H3 in a rearward direction. Thus, movement of the rack bar I34 will serve to oscillate the shaft I3I to shift the position of the arm I38. The means for actuating the rack I34 to effect this result are shown in Figures 2, 4, 5 and 18. A starwheel I36 havingv four arms, is journalled adjacent the path of movement of the conveyor .53e, as shown in Figure 2 with its arms projecting over the conveyor. The starwheel shaft I31 projects upwardly through the top of the casing and carries a double arm cam I38 (Figure 18). A mercury switch or the like I39, mounted on the casing top, is providedwith a depending arm I48 (Figures 5 and 18) in position to be engaged by the projections on the cam I38. The switch I39 is in circuit by means of an appropriate cable I4I with a solenoid I42, shown at the right of Figure 5. The armature of the solenoid. is connected by means of a toggle joint I43 to the rack bar I34, which engages the several pinions on the deflector arm shafts I 3|.

Each bottle travelling on the conveyor 53c toward the position a will shift the starwheel I36 and the cam I38 one-fourth of a revolution.-

I When a bottle shifts the cam to the dotted position shown in Figure 18, the depending arm I48 of the mercury switch I39 will be shifted and the circuit through the switch closed. Thereupon the solenoid I42 will be energized and the bar I34 will be shifted to the right in Figures 4 and 5. The pinions I 33 will be rocked in a clockwise direction, to move the fingers I38 from the deflecting position shown in the several figures .to a position in alignment with the conveyors. Because of the shape of the cam I38, the parts will be held in this position until another bottle moves the starwheel anotherone-four'th turn. When the deflector arms are in the inoperative position,-

tions s-z.

belt.

the bottles will travel in straight lines toward the lehr, longitudinally from their respective posi- .When the next row of bottles has been collected by the bottle arresting fingers and a second bottle shifts the starwheel one-fourth turn, the cam will be moved to the full line posi-' tion shown, Figure 18, the solenoid will be deenergized, the weight I44 will shift the rack bar,

and the bottle deflecting arms will be shifted to the deflecting position shown in Figures 2, 4 and 16. Thus, when this second bottle serves torelease the second transverse row of bottles, they will all have their positions shifted by engagement with the deflecting arms I38 and their centers will be staggered between the lines of the centers of the first row of bottles. Means are provided for varying the degree of deflection of the arms 38. Obviously, when bottles or jars having small diameters are being handled, the arms 38 which engage their peripheries must be deflected more than in the case of large bottles. A convenient means for effecting this adjustment is shown at the right of Figure 5, where the pivot I45 for the end of the toggle remote from the bar I34 is mounted on an adjustable together to form a flexible wire apron. The belts 53, etc., and II also are preferably formed of similar wire mesh material. As is well known, both surfaces of wire mesh belts of this type are irregular or rough, because of the presence of the loops and-links from which they are made.

Means are provided for transferring the articles from the parallel belts in the stacker to the lehr This means preferably comprises a plurality of transfer plates I6I (Figures 3, 6, 7, 8 and 10) pivoted at I62 to the shafts upon which. the rollers 54 are journalled. Each plate I6I has a down-turned terminal portion I63 having an.

aperture through which the aforesaid shafts extend. Also, a rearwardly extended portion carries a transverse rod I65 and rollers I86. These rollers underlie the several belts 53 and are pressed into engagement therewith by the weight of the plate I6I and any article supported thereon. As the belt 53 travels, its roughened'undersurface, engaging the rollers I66, will shake the plate I6I and cause articles thereonto move toward the lehr conveyor, where they will be picked up and carried through the tunnel.

It is thought that the operation of the apparatus of the present invention will be entirely clearto one skilled in the art from a consideration of the above description. A line of bottles will be presented to the stacker on the lead-in conveyor II, which, of course, may extend any desired distancefrom the stacker. By means of the ushers 8|, 8Ia, 8Ib, their associated guide plates, and the ushers 95, etc., the articles will be distributed over the several conveyor belts in a plurality of transversely spaced paths. A row of articles will be collected by the arresting fingers II8, III in proper order and sequence, until a bottle approaches the position a. The last mentioned article will turn the starwheel I36 one-fourth of a revolution with the result that the solenoid I42 will shift the deflecting arms I30 from the position which they formerly assumed to the opposite position. This article will then strike the finger H which, by means of the arm I23, bell crank I, switch I26 and solenoid I21 will shift all of the arresting fingers to inoperative position. Thereupon the transversely arranged row of bottles will move in unison on the conveyors toward the lehr. The

flngers I30 will stagger them with respect to 3 and 8, to facilitate this transfer.

fill

The cycle of operation will be repeated, and another-transverse row of bottles will be collected. 01 course, one row of bottles is being formed during the time that another row is being staggered and transferred to the lehr.

It must be understood that the present invention is ,not limited to the details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings or described above, but includes all devices coming within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

I claim:

1. An automatic stacker comprising conveying means for articles of glassware, deflectors for positioning successive articles on, diiferentv longitudinal lines on said conveying means, means for arresting the movement of the articles as they arrive at a. predetermined line disposed transversely of the direction of movement of the conveying means, means for releasing the articles to permit the transfer of a transversely disposed row of articles into the lehr, and means for staggering the positions of the individual articles in successive rows in the lehr, said staggering means comprising a plurality of arms positioned to be engaged by and to shift the articles of alternate rows laterally with respect to the articles in the other rows.

2. An automatic stacker for glassware, comprising conveying means for articles of glassware, deflectors for positioning successive articles on different longitudinal lines of said conveying means in predetermined order and sequence,

' means for arresting the movement of an article iii 01. each of said different longitudinal lines as it arrives at a predetermined transversely disposed line, means for releasing the articles upon the arrival at said line of the last article in one sequence, to permit the conveyor tofmove a transversely disposed row of articles, means for rendering said arresting means operative to-form a second transverse row of articles, additional de-.

fleeting means and means for projecting the same intothe paths ofmovement only of said second transverse row of articles, thereby to stagger the position of each article in the second row laterally with respect to the corresponding article in the first-mentioned row.

3. An automatic stacker for articles of glass ware comprising a conveyormovable longitudinally toward the entrance end of a lehr, deflectors associated with said conveyor for positioning the articles in predetermined spaced relation across the \conveyor, means for restraining the movement of the articles with the conveyor until a transverse row is formed, means for releasing said row and for transferring the same to the lehr, additional deflectors, and means operative to project the same into the paths of movement of the articles in predetermined transverse rows of articles for shifting the position of each article in said row laterally with respect to the articles in a preceding row.

4. An automatic stacker for articles of glassware comprising means forarranging the articles in transversely disposed rows successively in front of a lehr, means for transferring the rows to the lehr, and a plurality of deflectors above the transferring means, one adjacent the path of movement of each article, said deflectors being movable to engage and stagger the articles of one rowlaterally with respect to .the articles of a preceding row. a v

5. An automatic stacker forarticles of glassware comprising means for arranging the articles ,in transversely disposed rows successively in front of a lehr, means for transferring the rows to the lehr, deflector means, and means for projecting the same into the paths of movement of the articles, thereby to shift the articles in one row laterally with respect to the articles of a preceding row, during their movement toward the lehr.

6. An automatic stacker for'articles of glassware comprising means for arranging the articles in transversely disposed rows successively in tioned above the last mentioned conveying means and operative upon alternate bottles in each of the last-mentioned lines to shift their positions laterally with respect to preceding and succeeding bottles therein.

8. An automatic stacker for lehrs comprising conveying means aligned with and of substantially the same transverse width as an associated lehr, means for successively bringing bottles up to a line extending transversely of the conveying means in a predetermined spaced relation along said line and across the conveying means, bottle arresting means, means actuated by a movement of the last bottle to approach said line to render said arresting means temporarily inoperative, to permit the conveying means to move said row toward the lehr, and means for staggering the bottles in alternate rows with respect to the bottles in preceding and succeeding rows, said staggering means being controlled by a move- I ment of the last bottle to approach in said certain rows are spaced between longitudinal lines of the centers of the articles in the other rows, said last-mentioned means being controlled by the last articles to arrive in position in said certain rows.

10. A stacker comprising a chamber, a single each alternate line conveyor leading into the front end of the chamber, conveying means coextensive in width with the chamber and substantially parallel to the single line conveyor, a first pivoted deflector adapted to deflect alternate articles in said single line to two difierent paths, additionalpivoted defiectors adapted to deflect the articles to a plurality of paths leading to a lehr, and positively actuated guide means mounted to be projected into each path at predetermined times for staggering certain articles in each path laterally out of alignment with the preceding ones, whereby the articles in'the different paths are formed into rows in the lehr in staggered, overlapped relation to prevent air drafts longitudinally of the lehr between the rows of articles.

11. An automatic stacker for arranging articles of glassware for transfer to a lehr in a row extending transversely of the lehr, comprising conveying means disposed longitudinally of the lehr, pivoted deflectors associated with the conveying means adapted to direct articles along a plurality of paths spaced transversely thereof, vertically disposed shafts having pinions fixed thereon and carrying article arresting fingers above the conveying means associated with each path and arranged in a line transversely of the conveying means, rack means engageable with the pinions, a freely pivoted finger adjacent one of said paths in position to be actuated by the passage of an article in that path, and means controlled by the last-mentioned finger for actuating the rack means to rotate the pinions'and shafts for shifting the article arresting fingers to inoperative position to release the articles previously arrested thereby, for transfer in a transversely extending row to the lehr.

12. A stacker in accordance with claim 11 characterized in that the rack means is urged in one direction by a weight and in the other direction by a solenoid, and in that the freely pivoted finger serves to control the action of the solenoid to shift the rack means and the bottle arresting fingers from one position to another.

13. In a stacker, the combination with conveying means and means for distributing articles of glassware on said conveying means in a plurality of spaced paths, of deflector means operative to stagger alternate articles in each path laterally with respect to other articles therein, said deflector means'comprising vertically disposed shafts having .deflector arms, mounted thereon adjacent the upper surface of said conveying means, a reciprocable bar operatively connected to said shafts, and means controlled by the passage of articles in one of said paths for actuating said bar. I 14. In a stacker, the combination with conveying means and means for distributing articles of glassware on said conveying means in a plurality of. spaced paths, of deflector means'operative to stagger alternate articles in each path laterally with respect to other articles thereon, said deflector means comprising vertically disposed shafts having deflector arms mounted thereon adjacent the upper surface of said conveying means pinions on said shafts, a rack engaging said pinions, and means controlled by the passage of articles in one of said paths foractuating said rack. L

15. A stacker in accordance with claim 14 characterized in thatithe means for actuating the rack comprises a -'is'tarwheel positioned to be turned by the passage'of articles in said one path, a weight, a solenoid, and afswitch controlled by the position of said starwheel to energize the solenoid to shift the rack.

16. An automatic stacker for articles of glassware comprising a longitudinal, lead-in conveyor, another conveyor in alignment therewith, and a plurality of conveyor belts disposed in parallelism with the aforesaid conveyor laterally on both sides thereof, a pivoted usher associated with said lead-in conveyor for deflecting articles thereon alternately to belts on opposite sides thereof, additional pivoted ushers for deflecting and distributing the articles over said belts in predeter mined sequence to move in laterally spaced paths,

and means for driving the lead-in conveyor and the laterally disposed belts at different variable speeds of constant ratio. v

1'7. An automatic stacker for articles of glassware comprising a horizontal support, vertical side walls upstanding from said support terminating in closely spaced relation at their forward ends to provide an entrance and diverging rearwardly to provide an interior chamber rearwardly of the entrance, 'a lead-in conveyor extending from the outside into the chamber through said entrance, and a plurality of parallel conveyors in said chamber of different lengths, the forward ends of said parallel conveyors'terminating adjacent the diverging side walls and the rear ends thereof terminating on a line extending transversely of the chamber at rightangles to said parallel conveyors.

18. An automatic stacker for articles of glassware comprising a horizontal platform, a plurality of parallel belt conveyors mounted on said platform, an insulated casing comprising side walls and a top supported upon said platform and providing a chamber above said conveyors, the forward side walls being angularly, disposed and diverging from a forward entrance opening rearwardly toward a widened rear portion of the chamber, and means in the chamber for distributing articles of glassware introduced into the chamber through said entrance opening in a plurality of different diverging paths.

19. Anautomatic stacker for articles of glassware comprising a horizontal platform,. a plurality of parallel belt conveyors mounted off said platform, an insulated casing comprising side walls and a top supported upon said platform and providing a chamber above said conveyors, the forward side walls being angularly disposed and diverging from a forward entrance opening rearwardly toward a widened rear portion of the chamber, and pivoted ushers in said chamber positioned to deflect articles of glassware along a plurality of different paths therein, certain of said paths following thediverging side walls to lead articles to op 'site sides of the widened portion of the chamber. a

20. An automatic stacker for lehrs comprising conveying means aligned with and leading toward,

the entrance end of the lehr, means for distributing articles of glassware laterally on the conveying means to cause successive articles to follow I said conveying means into the lehr.,

1 21. In a lehr stacker, means for conveying a plurality of articles. in transversely spaced longi tudinally extending paths toward the lehr, and means for arranging said articles in straight, transversely extending rows, said means comprising a. plurality of pairs of pivoted fingers on opposite sides of said paths, means for projecting said fingers across said paths and for holdingthem in such position until a complete transverse row has been formed, and means actuated by the last article to arrive in said row for positively swinging all of said fingers simultaneously away from said paths, to permit the transverse row of articles to move toward the lehr.

22. In a lehr stacker, means for conveying a plurality of articles in transversely spaced, longitudinally extending paths toward the lehr and means for arranging said articles in straight, transversely extending rows, said means comprising a plurality offingers pivoted between said paths and arranged in pairs with adjacent fin- I gers of adjacent pairs pivoted about the same;

axis, means for swinging said fingers across saidpaths and for holding them in such position until a complete transverse row has been formed, and means actuated by the last article to arrive in said row for positively swinging said fingers away from said paths to permit said row of articles to move toward the lehr.

23; In a lehr stacker, means for conveying a plurality of articles in transversely spaced, longitudinally extending paths toward the lehr and means for arranging said articles in straight, transversely extending rows, said means comprising a plurality of fingers pivoted between said paths and arranged in pairs with adjacent fingers of adjacentpairs pivoted about the same axis,

means for swinging said fingers into said paths on lines inclined rearwardly toward the lehr to center the articles between the fingers on said paths, and to arrest their movement until a complete transverse row has been formed, and means actuated by the last article to arrive in said row for positively swinging all of said fingers simultaneously out of said paths to permit said transverse row of articles to move toward the lehr.

ORIE SHACKELFORD. 

